Rifle magazine



March 3, 1942. Q WISE 2,275,213

RIFLE MAGAZINE Filed Sept. 5. 1940 14 KQEQ/LQUZ. Z3 1{ a haw'le/s E.V/j/se/ INVENTOR m wwr.

ATTO R N EYS Patented Mar. 3, 1942 rrss '; FFIQE 6 Claims.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in rifle magazines.

An important object of my invention is the provision of an auxiliaryrifle magazine having an essentially large cartridge capacity which maybe either carried separately on the person of the user or applied to arifle of conventional construction.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an auxiliary riflemagazine of the above-mentioned character which, when applied to arifle, will greatly increase the capacity of the rifle magazine thuseliminating the necessity of frequently reloading the same andpermitting the user to fire a relatively great number of times aftereach filling.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of an auxiliaryrifle magazine of the abovementioned character which is particularlyadapted for use during war-time conditions. The

application of the auxiliary magazine to thei built-in magazine of therifle will cause the same to project substantially from the forearmportion of the gun. It is only necessary to apply the auxiliary magazinewhen the rifle is ready to be used and I have, therefore, provided themagazine with attaching means which permit the same to be easily andexpeditiously applied to or removed from the rifle.

Yet another object of my invention is the provision of an auxiliaryrifle magazine of the abovementioned character which includes lock meansfor positively preventing the release of the cartridges carried therebyuntil the lock means is manually released by the operator and, afteractuation of the lock means to release the car-v tridges, the lock meansis automatically positioned to positively prevent inadvertent closing ofthe discharge throat of the magazine.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during thecourse of the following description.

In the drawing, forming a part of this specification, and wherein likenumerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View illustrating an auxiliaryrifle magazine embodying my invention applied to a rifle of conventionalconstruction,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the auxiliary cartridge magazine,

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the rifle magazine,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevationof a locking means embodying apart of my invention,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modification ofthe locking means and illustrating the same as holding the keeper inobturating relation with the discharge throat of the magazine,

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the locking means asholding the keeper retracted from the discharge throat of the magazine,and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the locking means illustrated inFigures 6 and 7.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration, isshown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral ID designatesa rifle of conventional design and construction. The rifle includes abuilt-in cartridge magazine ll adapted to receive a limited number ofcartridges [2. The inner end of the cartridge magazine H is closed by abolt l3 which is associated therewith so that retraction of the boltwill open the inner end of the magazine and advancement of the bolt willcause the same to engage the uppermost of the cartridges and to projectthe same into the firing chamber M of the gun barrel. The outer end ofthe magazine H is normally closed by the usual removable plate (notshown).

A rifle of the above character may be fired only a few times at oneloading, due to the limited number of cartridges that may beaccommodated in the magazine II, but my auxiliary magazine which isbroadly indicated by the reference numeral I8, is capable ofaccommodating a relatively great number of cartridges. For that purpose,it comprises a relatively deep casing l9 open at each end and which willaccommodate a double column of cartridges arranged in staggeredrelation, as illustrated in Figure 3. The lower end of the casing isclosed by a removable plate 20 which serves as a seat for a springfollower 2 l As clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 the follower isarranged below the double column of cartridges and as each cartridge isremoved from the magazine the resilient action of the follower will urgethe subjacent cartridge into position to be next introduced into thefiring chamber. The upper end of the casing is open to provide adischarge throat which is shaped to fit and to abut the built-inmagazine H of the gun. The casing is adapted to be detachably applied tothe gun in the same manner as the detachable plate previously referredto, and for that purpose, the forward end of the casing is provided witha projecting lip 22 which snugly fits within a recess IE5 at the forwardend of the magazine I I and the rearward end thereof is provided with asuitable lug 23 which cooperates with a spring catch I! in a mannerwhich will be later described. The lug 23 is similarly provided with aprojecting lip 24 which extends in the same direction as the lip 22 forengagement within a recess 25 in the gun magazine. As best illustratedin Figure 1 the lug is provided with a tapered opening 26 which isadapted to receive the pointed end of a cartridge, or a like shapedimplement, for actuating the spring catch to release the auxiliarymagazine from the gun.

In attaching the auxiliary magazine, the casing is inserted in the openlower end of the gun magazine, with the projecting lips 22 and 24disposed slightly rearwardly of their respective recesses, and the upperedge of the casing is then moved into abutting engagement with the lowerend of the gun magazine. Advancement of the casing to move the lips intothe respective recesses will hold the casing in place and the springcatch I1 will seat within a groove 21 provided in the upper face of thelug 23 and thus act to lock the casing in position.

It is to be understood that, while the auxiliary magazine may beattached to the gun at all times, it is primarily adapted to be appliedthereto only when the gun is to be used. I have, therefore, provided anessentially springy keeper 28 which will hold a full supply ofcartridges in the casing against the resilient action of the follower 21when the casing is detached from the gun.

The keeper comprises an elongated plate the lower end of which isfixedly secured to the side of the casing by a bolt 29, or the like.

upper end thereof is bent transversely to provide an extension 33 whichis adapted to be received within a recess 3! in the upper edge of thecasing The plate, is formed of any suitable springy material and the andto project transversely of the discharge,

throat. The essentially springy action of the plate will normallyposition the projection 30 retracted from the throat, as illustrated inFigure 7, and in order that it maybe positively held in either theobturating or retracted position, I have V provided a lock or catchmeans therefor.

The lock means 32, as illustrated in Figures 2 through 5 comprises asleeve pivotally mounted for rotation about a pin which sleeve isprovided at its outer end with a transverse head 34. The head extendsthrough an elongated slot 38. in the keeper plate and is normally heldin transverse relation therewith by a coil spring 40. When the head 34'is disposed transversely of the slot by the spring it will engage theplate at the opposite sides of the slot to lock the same in either theobturating or open position. If the head is pivoted into register withthe slot against the resilient action of the spring, the plate may bemoved to either position and release of the head will permit the springto automatically return the same to the transverse position and eitherabove or below the plate to lock the same in the selected position.

The modified lock means illustrated in Figures 6 through 8 comprises asleeve 33 having a pair sleeve may be positionedtransversely of the slotto lock the plate in position or in alignment therewith to permit theplate to be moved to either the obturating or open position. Inasmuch asit is desired to normally look the keeper in the selected position, acoil spring 40 similar to the spring 40, is provided to normally holdthe heads 34 and 35 transversely positioned relative to the slot 38. Theend 4| of each spring is fixedly secured to the casing and the end 42thereof is received within an opening in the sleeve of its lock member,the opening of the sleeve 33 being indicated by the reference numeral43, as shown in Figure 8. Thus, if the heads 34 and 35 are moved intoregister with the slot the coil spring 40 will be tensioned, andif theextension 33 is moved to the obturating position, as illustrated inFigure 6, the coil spring will automatically position the head 34transversely of the slot 38. In this position the head 34 is disposedbeyond the keeper plate in a manner to abuttingly engage the outersurface thereof at opposite sides of the slot.

It is obvious that if a full supply of cartridges is disposed within thecasing and if the keeper 28 is locked in the obturating position, thecasing may be carried in the pocket of a garment or attached to a beltwithout fear of the cartridges being inadvertently expelled from thecasing. When the auxiliary rifle magazine embodying the presentinvention is not applied to the gun, the

gun may be easily carried and there will be no projecting parts tointerfere with the ready han- 'and 35 into register with the slot 38 topermit the keeper plate to flex outwardly to the open 'positionillustrated in Figure '7. To facilitate the rotation of the lockingmeans, I have provided the arcuately curved outer face 44 of the head 35with knurling. After the keeper has moved to the open position releaseof the locking means Will permit the spring 40f to automatically movethe head 34 out of register with the slot. The head 34 is now positionedintermediate the keeper plate and the side of the casing and in abuttingengagement with the inner face of the plate, as illustrated in thedotted lines in Figure 7. The keeper plate is now securely locked in theopen position to prevent the user of the gun from inadvertently pressingthereagainst in amanner to move the same into obturating relation Withthe discharge throat of the magazineto prevent the discharge of thecartridges into the firing chamber of the gun It may thus be seen that Ihave provided an auxiliary magazine which greatly increases the firingcapacity of a conventional gun. It is not necessary that the auxiliarymagazine be applied to the gun at all times, but when it is desired toeffect such application this operation may be expeditiouslyaccomplished. The cartridges are securely held in the auxiliary magazineuntil the locking means is manually released. After the locking meanshas been released and the cartridges forced into the ammunition magazinell of the gun the keeper is automatically locked in theopen position. Ifthe bolt i3 of the gun is retracted sufiicient additional cartridges maybe forced into the gun breech to completely fill both the auxiliarymagazine 18 and the gun magazine H. The gun is th n f y c a ged'and maybe fired without reloading until all of the cartridges have been fired.When it isdesired to reload the gun it is not necessary to remove theauxiliary magazine for the reason that retraction of the bolt I3 willpermit a new supply of cartridges to be introduced into both theauxiliary and gun magazines. When the gun is not in use the auxiliarymagazine may be easily detached from the gun and all of the cartridgesremoved from the magazine I! and firing chamber Hi. The auxiliarymagazine is then charged with a fresh supply of cartridges and thekeeper plate 28 locked in the closed position preparatory to applicationof the same to the gun.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown anddescribed, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An ammunition magazine comprising a casing having a discharge throat,a spring member provided with a slot and mounted on the side of thecasing, said spring member including a transverse portion movable acrossthe discharge throat to retain ammunition in the casing, and a catchmember pivoted to the casing and having spaced heads adapted to passthrough said slot in the spring member in one position but not passtherethrough in another position, positioning of the spring member toretain the ammunition and rotation of the catch member to the last-namedposition permitting the first head to lock the spring member in a closedposition and rotation of the catch member to the first-mentionedposition permitting the spring member to hex to a position beyond thefirst head and intermediate the heads whereby return of the catch memberto the second position will permit the first head to lock the springmember in an open position.

2. An ammunition magazine comprising a casing having a discharge throat,a spring member provided with a slot and mounted on the side of thecasing, said spring member including a transverse portion movable acrossthe discharge throat to retain ammunition in the casing, a catch memberpivoted to the casing and having spaced heads adapted to pass throughsaid slot in the spring member in one position but not pass therethroughin another position, and spring means coactive with the said catchmember to normally position the same in the second-mentioned position,posi- Z tioning of the spring member to retain the ammunition and normalpositioning of the catch member permitting the first head to lock thespring member in a closed position and rotation of the catch member tothe first-mentioned position against the resilient action of the springmeans permitting the spring member to flex to a position beyond thefirst head and intermediate the heads whereby the said spring means mayautomatically return the catch member to the second position to permitthe first head to lock the spring member in an open position.

3. An ammunition magazine comprising a casing having a discharge throat,a spring member mounted on the side of the casing having a transverseportion movable across the discharge throat to retain ammunition in thecasing, and a catch member pivoted to the casing and having a headadapted to extend transversely of the spring member in one position,positioning of the spring member to retain the ammunition and rotationof the catch member to position the head above the spring memberefiecting locking of the spring member in the closed position androtation of the catch to permit the head to disengage the spring memberpermitting the said spring member to flex to a position beyond the headwhereby return of the catch member to the first-mentioned position willpermit the head to extend below the spring member to lock the same in anopen position.

4. An ammunition magazine comprising a casing having a discharge threat,a spring member mounted on the side of the casing and having atransverse portion normally retracted from the discharge throat butmovable thereacross to retain ammunition in the casing, a catch memberpivoted to the casing and having a head adapted to swing over the springmember to lock the same in obturating relation with the discharge throator to swing beneath the spring member to lock the same in an openposition, and spring means coactive with the catch member to normallyposition the head transversely of the spring member, whereby pivoting ofthe head to release the spring member will tension the spring means andpermit the spring member to be moved to either the obturating or openposition and release of the catch member will permit the spring toautomatically return the head to lock the spring member in the selectedposition.

5. In an ammunition magazine, a casing having a discharge throat adaptedto extend into the magazine chamber of a gun for a limited distance, aspring member mounted on the side of the casing and having a portionnormally retracted from but movable across the discharge throat thereof,manual means carried by the portion of the casing extending from the gunchamber in a manner to be readily manually accessible when the casing isapplied to the gun, said means being movable into engagement with thespring member to lock the same in either of the above positions, and

spring means coactive with the manual means to normally position thesame in looking engagement with the said spring member.

6. An ammunition magazine comprising a casing having a discharge throat,a spring member mounted on the side of the casing having a transverseportion normally retracted from but movable across the discharge throatto retain ammunition in the casing, catch means movable into engagementwith the spring member to lock the same in either of the above-mentionedpositions, and resilient means coactive with the catch means toautomatically position the same in looking relation to the springmember.

CHARLES R. WISE.

